2007 Programme

2008 Programme at a Glance

OFFICIAL OPENING - AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE – La Fenice Thursday 22nd May PREMIO MIF- MIF International Piano Competition (Concert date to be confirmed) CLASSICAL CONCERT - Andrea Padova in Concert Wednesday 28th May CINEMA - WORLD PREMIERE - Homage to Michelangelo Antonioni Opening Night Friday 23rd May then 23rd-29th May FILM SCREENINGS - From the Resurgence to the Italian Constitution – Dal Risorgimento alla Costituzione 1,3,8th June ITALIAN CONNECTION RALLY- Mille Miglia da Sydney A Melbourne 23-25th May CALCIO - Juventus A Melbourne 26-30th May THEATRE - Luigi Pirandello’s – Six Characters in Search of an Author 12,13,14 & 19,20,21 June LITERARY - Notes on the Refrigerator - A presentation by Maestro Andrea Padova Tuesday 27th May SKIN SURFACES AND SHADOWS - Limited Edition Artist Book by Tommaso Durante Thursday 29th May POETRY BOOK LAUNCH - The Work is Still to be Done by Chris Wallace-Crabbe Thursday 5th June LE PIAZZE DI MELBOURNE 1,7,8th June DINNER - 62nd Republic Celebration and 60th Anniversary of the Italian Constitution Saturday 31st May

SEE BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION...Please note, the programme is subject to change without notice.

OFFICIAL OPENING - AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE – La Fenice

I Cameristi della Fenice di Venezia – The Chamber Musicians of ‘La Fenice’ Orchestra of Venice Featuring piano soloist Stefano Miceli and conductor and concertmaster Mauro Roveri Programme: Antonio Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni for strings Primavera, Estate, Autunno e Inverno Alessandro Annunziata: Fantasia Concertante for piano and strings World Premiere Performance (RAI Trade Edition) Astor Piazzolla: Quatro Estaciones di Buenos Aires for piano and strings Inverno, Primavera, Estate e Autunno Date: Thursday 22nd May Time: 8.00pm Venue: Great Hall, National Gallery of Victoria St Kilda Road, Melbourne Tickets: $15 adult, $13 NGV/MIF members, $10 student & pensioner Bookings: info@mif.net.au Presented in collaboration with the National Gallery of Victoria and under the patronage of the Regional Government of Veneto.

PREMIO MIF- MIF International Piano Competition

The MIF Prize has been organised with the patronage of the Conservatorium of Music San Pietro a Majella of Naples and the collaboration of the following Conservatories’ of Music in the Region of Campania: Domenico Cimarosa of Avellino, Nicola Sana of Benevento and Giuseppe Martucci of Salerno. The conservatory and adjacent church are part of the old San Pietro a Majella monastic complex, built at the end of the 13th century and dedicated to the monk Pietro da Morone, who became Pope Celestine V in 1294. The conservatory houses an impressive library of manuscripts pertaining to the lives and musical production of composers who lived and worked in Naples, among whom are Alessandro Scarlatti, Pergolesi, Domenico Cimarosa, Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. The historical museum has a display of rare antique musical instruments. San Pietro a Majella is actually the last in a long string of establishments that have been music conservatories in Naples. Their existence goes back to the Spanish rule of the city as a vice realm starting in the early 1500s. The competition was held at San Pietro a Majella on the 27th and 28th March in the famous Sala Scarlatti. The jury was made up of the following panel: Vincenzo de Gregorio, Stefano Miceli, Elsa Evangelista, Orsola D’Urso, Luigi Averna, Angela Morrone and Luigi d’Ascoli. The winners of the MIF International Piano Competition 2008 are: First Prize: Marco Ciampi - Italy Second Prize: Eri Kinoshita - Japan Third prize: Francesco Di Gregorio – Italy Fourth Prize: Alberto Pizzo - Italy Fifth Prize- ex-aequo Antonio Smaldone- Italy Federico Nicoletta- Italy All the winners of the competition are students of the Master class in Piano perfection offered at the Conservatorium of Music and Fine arts of the Regional Government of Campania. They represent the last generation of talented pianists emerging from the famous Neapolitan School of Piano.

Andrea Padova in Concert

Andrea Padova first achieved international critical attention when he won the JS Bach International Piano Competition in Germany in 1995. Since then he has performed throughout the world, including Carnegie Hall, Washington Performing Arts Society, Montreal, Munich, Roma, La Scala and Tel Aviv. His last Washington performance (Bach-Goldberg Variations) prompted The Washington Post to write “Andrea Padova turns sound into poetry. His virtuosity, sensitively managed, resounds through every measure”, Harold Schonberg wrote of Padova’s first CD: “a strong personality, conviction, freedom, and style”. Date: Wednesday 28th May Time: 7.30pm Free Admission Venue: BMW Edge, Federation Square, Cnr Flinders and Swanston Streets, Melbourne. Presented in association with the Italian Institute of Culture and under the Patronage of the Consulate General of Italy, Melbourne.

CINEMA – WORLD PREMIERE – Homage to Michelangelo Antonioni

Glances of Italian Cinema - ...Homage to Michelangelo Antonioni presented in association with Cinema Nova, Associazione Rinascimento, Regional Government Lazio and Cinecitta’ Holdoings. Michelangelo Antonioni 1912 -2007 Michelangelo Antonioni was born on 29th September 1912 in Ferrara, a small provincial capital in north-east Italy. He entered the University of Bologna after high school and graduated with a degree in economics. During this time he began writing about film and mercilessly criticized the famous Italian comedies of the 30s. In 1940, he went to Rome to study direction at the Centro Sperimentale. Two years later he worked as a scriptwriter, collaborating with directors such as Roberto Rossellini and Enrico Fulchignoni. From 1943-47, he directed his first documentary called Gente del Po. This was followed by several documentaries like N.U. and La Villa dei Mostri. Critics began to regard him as the main pioneer of neo realism in Italian cinema. His debut feature, Story of A Love Affair, used complex camera work to tell a simple story of a wealthy woman who tries to unite with her ex-lover to murder her husband. This approach would typify his subsequent work. Four more features followed Story of A Love Affair before Antonioni made his famous trilogy (The Adventure in '60, The Night in '61 and The Eclipse in '62). The Adventure was greeted with catcalls during the premiere in Cannes but subsequently it took the Special Jury Prize. The trilogy brought him great success and his name became famous all over the world. In 1980, the city of Bologna honoured Antonioni's achievements with its highest cultural award: Archiginnasio d'oro. During the decade Antonioni only made two more films and in 1985 he was impaired by a stroke, losing the power of language and becoming partially paralysed. Resting for ten years, he came back to the cinema world with Beyond the Clouds in 1995, collaborating with another famous director Wim Wenders. Opening Premiere Night 23rd May Dates: 23rd-29th May Times: times and screenings will soon be available in local paper Tickets: Adult $15.50, $11.00 Concession Venue: Cinema Nova, Lygon Street, Carlton List of films: Chronicle of Love,1950 The Vanquished, 1952 Lady Without Camelias, 1953 Love in the City, 1953 The Girlfriends, 1955 The Cry, 1957 The Adventure, 1960 The Night, 1961 The Eclipse, 1962 The Red Desert, 1964 Blow Up, 1966 Zabriskie Point, 1970 The Three Faces Chung Kuo China, Parts 1,2,3,1972 The Passenger, 1974 The Mystery of Oberwald, 1980 Identification of a Woman, 1982 Beyond the Clouds, 1995 Shorts and Documentaries: People of the Po Valley, 1943-1947 Waste Collection, 1948 Loving Lie, 1948 Seven Reeds, One Suit, 1949 Superstition, 1949 The Villa of Monsters, 1950 Returning to Lisca Bianca Island, 1983 The Funicular of Mount Faloria, 1950 Fotoromanza, 1984 Sicily, 1978 Roma 90 World Football Championships, 1990 Kumbha Mela, 1988 Noto Mandorli Vulcano Stomboli, Carnevale. 1992 The gaze of Michelangelo Films about Michelangelo Antonioni by other directors: The last Sequence of Professional Reporter, 1974 To Make a Film For Me Is to Live, 1995 Antonioni, The Gaze that Changed Cinema, 2001 As part of the first anniversary of the death of Michelangelo Antonioni, MIF will be publishing a special limited edition catalogue dedicated to work and life of the great director. This catalogue has been made possible through the funding of the Regional Government of Lazio. All films are new prints and have English subtitles. The presentation of a complete retrospective of the films Michelangelo Antonioni is a major cultural event. Antonioni is one of the most important artists of the twentieth century and has been made possible through the funding by; -The Regional Government of Lazio, the Office of the Minister for Culture and Arts, The Hon. Giulia Rodano -The Chief of Staff of the office of Minister Rodano, Dott.sa Monica Morriconi -The Director of the Department of Arts, Regional Government of Lazio, Dott. Enzo Ciarravano -The Ministry of Culture, Rome -Cinecitta’ Holdings, Rome in particular the President Avv. Battisti, Dott.ssa Federica Terzulli, -Our collaborators in Rome, Associazione Rinascimento, Stefania Pieri and Roberto Torelli -Cinema Nova and its management in particular Natalie Miller and special thanks to Sue Ritrovski. -Professor Ian Land, head of the Film and television School, Victorian College of the Arts

From the Resurgence to the Italian Constitution – Dal Risorgimento alla Costituzione

Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Italian Constitution in Film from La Presa di Roma to Rossellini’s Roma, Citta’ Aperta In the twentieth century films mirrored reality: it didn’t just record events – albeit interpreting them by creating hypothetical scenarios – it reflected the ideas, feelings and formulas we invented to classify and understand them. For this reason, twentieth century cinema is a historical source of primary importance, even when, films like the ones we are presenting in this edition of the Festival, La Presa di Roma and Il Piccolo Garibaldino, are not live on site documentaries, but dramaturgical organised reconstructions in other words, docofiction. In fact, although the bayonet attack in both films is based only on the memories of the directors, screenwriters and set designers, and the great leaders of the ‘Resurgence’ are made up like actors from an amateur theatrical company, the films speak to us as if they were live broadcasts: they tell us people felt about the Resurgence at the turn of century. In fact, one of the interesting choices made by Filoteo Alberini when he directed La Presa di Roma was to show the history directly influenced the country’s politics. In short, he intuitively sensed the media role of the cinema and understood that it was important tool to ‘manipulate’ the feelings and opinions that were beginning to coalesce and form ‘public opinion’. We wish to thank the Cineteca Nazionale of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, particularly the Director/Curator, Dott. Sergio Toffetti and his staff or his collaboration with MIF 2008, Dott. Gustavo Raffi, Grand Master of the Grand Orient in Italy and Bernardino Fioravanti, Director of the Library of the Grand Orient for his support. We also thank our collaborators in Rome for the organisation and coordination of this project, Stefania Pieri and Roberto Torelli of Associazione Rinascimento. Screenings: Sunday 1st June 11.30am La Presa di Roma, by Filoteo Alberini, 1905; Il Piccolo Garibaldino by CINES; Chopin’s Notturne by Luigi Maggi Accompanied by international pianist, Maestro Roberto Coppola 2.00pm La Presa di Roma, by Filoteo Alberini, 1905; Il Piccolo Garibaldino by CINES; Chopin’s Notturne by Luigi Maggi Accompanied by international pianist, Maestro Roberto Coppola 5.00pm Roma Citta’ Aperta by Roberto Rossellini To celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the birth of the great Italian actress Anna Magnani Tuesday 3rd June 5.00pm La Presa di Roma by Filoteo Alberini; Il Piccolo Garibaldino by CINES; Chopin’s Notturne by Luigi Maggi Accompanied by international pianist, Maestro Roberto Coppola 7.00pm Dall’Italia all’ Australia – From Italy to Australia A silent film by Angelo Drovetti, silent film that chronicles the voyage of the Regina d’Italia and its passengers during their seven week world odyssey from Genova to Australia, by way of Egypt and Sri Lanka, arriving in September 1924. Presented by permission of Tony De Bolfo by arrangement with Fondazione Cineteca Italiana, Milano. 8.00pm Roma Citta’ Aperta Sunday 8th June 8.00pm Roma Citta’ Aperta Venue: Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) Federation Square, Cnr Swanston & Flinders Street, Melbourne

JUVENTUS A MELBOURNE

The Italian Connection is truly here in 2008 when the famous Italian Club – Juventus comes to Melbourne on the 26th May to play against Australia’s premier football club, Melbourne Victory on the 30th May at Melbourne’s Telstra Dome. Date: Melbourne Victory vs Juventus Friday 30th May Venue: Telstra Dome, Melbourne Kick off 8.00pm AEST Tickets on line: Ticketmaster.com.au Tel: 136 100

EXHIBITION - Hands & Heart, Stitches of Love

In an age of mass production and globalisation, individual identity and heritage of cultures is being lost. The work of the artisan is therefore a dying art form. This exhibition is a celebration of women's work of handmade trousseau or dowry Italian textiles from various of Italy. Personal stories and memories are an integral part of the fabric of this exhibition. Free Admission COASIT Conference Centre 54 University Street, Carlton Enquiries 9349 9000 Open 10am - 5pm daily

THEATRE - Luigi Pirandello’s – Six Characters in Search of an Author

Written in 1921 a group of actors are preparing to rehearse for a Pirandello play. While starting the rehearsal, they are interrupted by the arrival of six characters. The leader of the characters, the father, informs the manager that they are looking for an author. He explains that the author who created them did not finish their story, and that they therefore are unrealized characters who have not been fully brought to life. The manager tries to throw them out of the theatre. But becomes more intrigued when they start to describe their story. So the story begins to unfold with family dramas and passion aplenty. Directed by Vince D’Amico and Performed by Commeartefo Theatre Company. In Italian with English surtitles. Cast: FEDERICA FRANGINI, LAURA LATTUADA, MIMMO MANGIONE, ANTONIO APOSTOLICO, MASON VIOLA, DEMI MANGIONE, NADIA PIN, NICK PANAYOTIS, ROSSELLA SAVINI, LORENZO CAMBIERI, ANITA DI SANTO, LUCA CHIARATO,TONI CUOMO, MARIO FLORIO MORI Date: 12,13,14 and 19,20,21 June Time: 7.30pm Venue: Open Stage theatre, 757 Swanston Street Melbourne Tickets: $25, concession and group bookings $20 Website: www. commeartefo.com Email:info@commeartefo.com To book phone Diana 03 9478 9094 or Patrizia- 0425 762 238

LITERARY - Notes on the Refrigerator

A presentation by Maestro Andrea Padova 'Il Salento' is the peninsula better known as the heel of Italy. It comprises the provinces of Lecce, Brindisi and Taranto and has history by the bucket, as well as 80% of Puglia's 829 kms of coast. It once extended over a bigger territory, stretching as far as Matera in Basilicata. Called 'Terre d'Otranto' the Greek towns of Otranto, Nardò, Galatina and Gallipoli dominated the thousands of small villages along the coast and those dispersed in the interior. Maestro Padova’s presentation includes a visual footage of the Salento including a recent short entitled: Lecce, City of Art and Ancient Traditions which was presented with success at the recent BIT – International Tourism Convention in Milan. Andrea Padova was born in the Salento and after many years has decided to return and live there. Date: Tuesday 27th May, 7.30pm Venue: Italian Institute of Culture 233 Domain Road South Yarra Free admission Light refreshments will be served.

This exhibition is co-presented by the Italian Institute of Culture, Melbourne under the patronage of the Consulate General of Italy.

Skin Surface and Shadows - Limited Edition Artist Book - Australian Premiere Presentation

Durante created Skin Surfaces and Shadows in 2004 during his stay in Bundanoon (gifted to the Australian people by Arthur & Yvonne Boyd in South East Australia). As international artist in residence and the work was enriched during the artist’s stay in Broome in 2005. On this occasion he collected raw materials that were subsequently wrought to develop the actual bookwork. The images of the Skin and Shadows came from the Bundanoon environment and the shores of the Shoalhaven River, while the section Surfaces is from Broome. On the edge of the artistic practice and philosophical inspiration, Skin Surfaces and Shadows has a triptych structure and is a strong combination of art, design, craft and digital technology. Durante’s artist books have been exhibited in solo and group shows since 1978 and they are part of the most prestigious public and private special collections worldwide. They include: The Australian National Library, Canberra, Getty Research Institute Library, Los Angeles, Yale University Arts Library, New haven, CT, USA, Museum of Modern Art/Franklin Furnace Collection, New York; Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection, Chicago; the State Library of Victoria, Australia; the New York Public Library; the Italian Institute of Philosophical Studies, Naples, Italy. The evening’s presentation of the book will include Special Guest Speakers Des Cowley - Manager, Rare Printed Collections, State Library of Victoria; Alex Selenitsch - Poet and architect, Senior Lecturer, ABP, University of Melbourne and selected readings from the book by poet Chris Wallace-Crabbe. Date: Thursday 29th May at 6.30pm Venue: Australian Theatre, National Gallery of Victoria at Federation Square, Cnr. Swanston & Flinders Street, Melbourne Free entry

This presentation is made in collaboration with the National Gallery of Victoria, the Italian Institute of Culture, Melbourne, the Design Research Institute [Intervention through Art] of RMIT University, World Poetry and the Australian Poetry Centre.

POETRY - The Work is Still to be Done - Chris Wallace-Crabbe - Australian Premiere

The presentation of this book of poetry in English and Italian is a testimony to the cultural bridges that are established between Australia and Italy; between the Anglophone and Italian speaking communities, between Melbourne and Italy and Italy and Australia generally. The evening’s presentation will include the launching of the book and the reading of excerpts from the book in English and Italian. Chris Wallace-Crabbe was born in Melbourne in 1934. Altogether he has fourteen volumes of poetry, a novel, and numerous prose works. His Selected Poems 1956-1995 (Carcanet Oxford Poets) won the Age Book of the Year Prize. Back in 1987 he won the quinquennial Dublin Prize for the Arts and Sciences, while in that year he also went to Harvard as Professor of Australian Studies. His recent books have included a "postmodern epic", The Universe Looks Down (Brandl & Schlesinger) and his Dante translation, The Flowery Meadow (Electio Editions). In prose, his latest volume is Read It Again (Salt: Cambridge). His new collection, Telling a Hawk from a Handsaw, appears from Carcanet this year. His bilingual "artist's book", All Writing Still Is to be Done, was produced by L'Officina in Vicenza. Date: Thursday 5th June at 6.60pm Venue: Clemenger Auditorium, National Gallery of Victoria 180 St Kilda Road Melbourne Free entry

This project is being presented in collaboration with the National Gallery of Victoria and supported by a grant from the Sidney Myer Foundation. A special thanks to Marco Fazzini of the Anglistica, Ca'Foscari, University of Venice, Zattere Campus, Italy.

DINNER - 62nd Republic Celebration and 60th Anniversary of the Italian Constitution

Celebratory dinner for the 60th Anniversary of the Italian Constitution at the Casa D’Abruzzo Club. Presented in conjunction with COMITES, COASIT, Il Globo, Rete Italia and La Fiamma and the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Date: Saturday 31st May Time: 7.30pm Venue: Casa D’Abruzzo Club, 55 O’Herns Road, Epping. Tickets: $45 per person Bookings: Casa D’Abruzzo 9401 4452

LE PIAZZE DI MELBOURNE - Federation Square, Melbourne

62nd Anniversary of the Republic of Italy and the Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Italian Constitution. Date: Sunday 1st, June 2008 Time: 11.00am – 6.00pm Free Admission 9.30am Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne Principal Celebrant Bishop Christopher Prowse Co-ordinated and organised by Fr Dino Torresan with assistance from Cav. Frank Di Blasi, Cav. Uff. Guido Ciacia’ and Maresc. Ezio Catelli. A special thank you to Mario Ciampa and Peter Balassone and families for sponsoring the Mass booklet. ACMI- Australian Centre for the Moving Image Programme at Federation Square Celebration Program for the 60th anniversary of the Italian Constitution 11.30am La Presa di Roma, by Filoteo Alberini, 1905 Il Piccolo Garibaldino by CINES Chopin’s Notturne by Luigi Maggi Accompanied by international pianist, Maestro Roberto Coppola Main Stage Programme The program on the main stage will be presented by popular DJ’s from Rete Italia throughout the day and the Official Opening will be conducted by Ivano Ercole. 12.45pm Official Salute to the Italian Republic Day and 60th Anniversary of Italian Constitution Official Celebration opened by the Premier of Victoria, the Hon, John Brumby. Guests include the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, the Hon John So, the Consul-General of Italy, Dott. Francesco de Conno and other dignitaries and VIPs. The national anthem will be performed by soprano Lee Abrahmsen accompanied on piano by Adrian Tamburini. Entertainment to be finalised, with a Finale of ‘Italy in the 60s and 70s’ The Atrium Programme 11.00am onwards La Fiera del Libro/Bookfair on all things Italian from books, videos and DVDs to maps, magazines and Italian newspapers. Wine Tastings from the Yarra Valley Stalls/Bancarelle – offering the latest information on all that is Made in Italy. Yarra Terrace Programme An Italian Food Feast- an array of stalls/bancarelle boasting the tradition from Italy’s regional cities and towns. Come and savour the array of tastes from the regions of Italy from hearty dishes flavoured with herbs, spices to delicate olive oils from the quintessential Mediterranean flavours of fresh vegetables in season. Antipasti, primi piatti, pasta. Prosciutto, parmigiano, home made gnocchi, porchetta and much more.... Enjoy Autunno in Melbourne with roasted chestnuts and Vin Brule’. Come and have lunch on the Yarra Terrace sitting at Bar Di Mattina with your favourite glass of either Italian red or white, together with a dolce and caffe. Bar Di Mattina will offer a wonderful array of Italian ‘favourites’; pasta, bruschetta, riso and much more...Plus come along and taste Cafe Di Mattina..the blend and choice of coffee beans that make Di Mattina Caffe ‘the coffee that Melbournians can’t do without’ Vi aspettiamo a Bar Di Mattina per un caffe! PLUS Witinglsow rides, jugglers and roaming artists will entertain and delight the whole family.

Piazza Italia - Official Closing of the MIF 2008

Ti Amo Melbourne......and all roads lead to Piazza Italia on the 7th and 8th June Piazza Italia, Melbourne’s newest event venue in the heart of Ti Amo Melbourne, will be transformed into an Italian Piazza. The setting will exude the Italian flavour and ambience with Bar Di Mattina operating the whole weekend. From 12 midday on Saturday and Sunday – Rete Italia’s Djs will present the programme for the official closing of the MIF 2008 from “Il Palco Centrale” Entertainment will include: La Voce della Luna, Kavisha Mazzella Trio, The Sopranos, No Tenors Allowed, Italy of the 60s and 70s – a musical voyage back in time, Commedia dell’arte Duo mattopancetta Programme still to be finalised. PLUS Magicians and roving artists, Commedia dell’arte mask painting, film screenings Saturday and Sunday evening from 7.00pm onwards including Silent films and ‘Roma Citt Aperta’ by Roberto Rossellini, Story telling, culinary tastings from regional cities and towns of Italy, cards, draughts, and chess, Wittinglsow children’s rides. Bar Di Mattina will be the focal point of Piazza Italia...sip cappuccino, espresso or cioccolato caldo and savour pannini, bruschette and dolci...for those who have a sweet tooth.......Ci vediamo a Piazza Italia e arriverderci al prossimo anno!

2007 Programme Highlights

Stefano Miceli Opening Concert

On the 24th of May at the BMW Edge, Federation Square the 2007 Melbourne Italian Festival was Officially Opened by internationally acclaimed Pianist Stefano Miceli. Miceli captivated the audience with pieces by renowned composers including Cimarosa, Cherubini, Albeniz, Liszt and Verdi. In Italy, where he resides Miceli is the Artistic Director of Bergamo Classica as well as the Principal Director of the Bergamo Classica Chamber Music Orchestra. The Opening was presented in conjunction with the Italian Institute of Culture, Melbourne.

Festa Della Repubblica

Celebrated over 2 huge days and 2 venues Friday 1st of June saw the Celebratory Dinner for the 61st Anniversary of the Italian Republic at the Casa D’Abruzzo. Over 520 guests enjoyed a sumptuous meal accompanied by wines from the Region of Sicily and entertained by singer/songwriter Cosima De Vito, much loved Italo-Australian Finalist in Australian Idol 2003. The Dinner was presented in conjunction with the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Melbourne. On Sunday 3rd of June Federation Square played host to the Popular day of the Festa Della Repubblica. The day began with a mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral then a classical recital by the Melbourne Chamber Choir at the BMW Edge. The Official Proceedings were opened by the Lord Mayor Cr. John So. Outside the banks of the Yarra came alive with a truly popular feast of regional Italian food stalls-a Mediterranean taste for every palate. Around the square Italian car displays, Ducale Barista demonstrations and a host of great entertainment on the Main Stage including Cosima de Vito, Le Soprano, The Forte Goup and Robert Ratti Trio. The Atrium housed La Fiera del Libro (Book Fair) with stalls displaying and selling Italian books, maps, newspapers, magazines, dvds, current affairs information and the latest on contemporary Italy. A fun day was had by all and our crowds grew in excess of 10,000 attendees!

Piazza Italia Activation Project

Official Closing of the Festival The Melbourne Italian Festival in partnership with the Melbourne City Council transformed the little-known Piazza Italia on Lygon Street into a typical Roman-style Piazza as part of a project to encourage more visitors to the event space. The scene was completed by Zagame’s Alfa Romeo car display and Melbourne’s very own Colosseum a 4x4 m recreation of the Colosseum in Rome donated by Bruno Grollo. A huge hit of the weekend was the SMEG kitchen regional cooking demonstration with guests savouring the delicious assagini and the roasted chestnut and Vin Brule stall. Again an awesome entertainment programme on ‘Il Palco Centrale’ including La Voce della Luna, Melbourne Mandolin Orchestra, Victorian Accordian Orchestra and Mattopancetta Commedia del’Arte. And for the children we had storytelling, Carnevale mask painting, Soccer clinic and Wittingslow rides in the park. Of course no Piazza would be complete without ‘caffe’ and ours was served from the stunning Ducale Coffee Bar.

Cinecitta Retrospective

A celebration of 70 years of international film making From HBO’s Rome to Fellini’s Roma, from Ben-Hur to The Passion of the Christ, Cinecittá Studios has long been a haven for filmmakers, a site beloved by movie aficionados, and one of the most fabled locations in International cinema. Fellini dubbed it a “temple of dreams,” while director Terry Gilliam called it “seductress of the great, famous and mad.” Now, 70 years and 3,000 films after its founding, Cinecittá remains a vital, working centre for production, pre-production and post-production. In this time span it has a history that includes more than 3000 productions by filmmakers such as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Federico Fellini, Anthony Minghella, Mel Gibson, Roberto Rosellini, Luchino Visconti, Bernardo Bertolucci, Lina Wertmuller, just to name a few. An astonishing 48 of the films that have been made in whole or in part, at Cinecitta’ have received Academy Awards and 83 have received Oscar Nominations. The following films were screened as part of the 2007 festival: • Ben Hur Director William Wyler (1959) • La Dolce Vita, Director Federico Fellini (1960) • Cleopatra, Director Joseph L Mankiewicz (1963) • The Pink Panther, Director Blake Edwards (1963) • Le Mepris – The Contempt, Director Jean-Luc Godard • The Secret of Santa Vittoria, Director Stanley Kramer (1969) • Novecento – 1900, Director Bernardo Bertolucci, (1976) • Le Bal - Ballando Ballando, Director Ettore Scola (1983) • The Godfather Part III, Director Francio Fod Coppola (1990) • Una Pura Formalita’-A Simple Formalità, Director Giuseppe Tornatore (1994) • Il Postino-The Postman, Director Micheal Radford and Massimo Troisi (1994) • The English Patient, Director Anthony Minghella (1996) • Padre padrone Director (1977) • La Vita e’ Bella – Life is Beautiful, Director Roberto Benigni (1997) • Le Sciamane – The Shamans, Director Anna Rita Ciccone (2000) • Ripley’s Game, Director Lilliana Cavani (2002) • Buongiorno Notte –Good Morning,Night ,Director Marco Bellocchio (2003) • Gangs of New York , Directed by Martin Scorsese (2002) • Il Cuore Altrove – The Heart Elsewhere, Director Pupi Avati (2003) • Le Tigre e La Neve – The Tiger and the Snow, Director Roberto Benigni (2005) Films were screened at Cinema Nova in Carlton and co-presented with the Regional Government of Lazio, Cultural Department, Cinecitta’ Holdings and coordinated by the Associazione Rinascimento and Melbourne Italian Festival.